Exploring Lombok Island

We had a great time in Bali, but as many people warned us, it was all very touristy and crowded. So looking for a more local feeling we made our way to the next island east of Bali: Lombok. We opted to pass up the flight and fast boat to Lombok options, instead joining the locals on the slow boat (ferry). This by itself was quite an experience. Aside from one other traveler, we were the only foreigners cruising on the boat.  Inside was hot, humid, crowded and smelly. We went to the deck and found a little corner underneath some shade. It cost us seven dollars total and it took five hours to get there.

In Lombok we took a taxi south to Kuta, a very small surfing town. Everyone gets around on motorbikes which cost only five dollars per day to rent.

Segara Anak cottages at Kuta Lombok

The next day we went a few kilometers east of Kuta to Gerupuk. Here we hired a boat to take us off shore for some surfing and snorkeling. Adam affirmed that is one of the best spots he has ever surfed on. The waves are perfect shape and predictable. I chose to snorkel nearby, which was just okay. We finished our visit drinking beer and having yummy satay at a local bar.

The following day we went to explore the virgin beaches west of Kuta. The roads were in terrible shape, but fortunately we only dropped the bike once. It was all worth it when we got there! We had a mesmerizing white sand beach all to ourselves!

Lombok, Indo

Reaching our limits of remoteness at some Indonesian island.

Monkeying around

One of the favorite places we visited in Bali is the monkey forest located in Ubud. Watching monkeys playing and assaulting people is hilarious and entertaining. They are smart! They go for the pockets, open bags and zippers, take sunglasses and hats, anything that they can user to barter for food… those little sneaky bastards.

The older monkeys are very indifferent; they only care about food and command the respect of the rest. Younger monkeys are much more energetic. They jumped on us, played with us, pulled Adam’s beard and picked through our hair for bugs. The mature monkeys are the one’s looking for goodies. They followed people and surprised them from behind by reaching in their pockets. We could hang out here all day.

Here are some photos, enjoy!

 

First days in Bali

Bali screams culture the moment you step out of the plane. It quickly overwhelms the senses - Hindu statues ornamented with flowers and fabrics everywhere, the thick smell of incense, feeling the humidity and warmth… and the food! An Asian spicy sweet island mixture of flavors, it’s delightful!

Ganesha

First we went to Sanur, a holiday beach west of Bali. Usually we try to avoid touristy places but we wanted to check it out at least for a day. As expected there were many people, restaurants, hotels, etc. We took a walk to the beach which was nice despite the trash littered about. On our way back we found a street market and even though I wasn’t planning on buying anything, I couldn’t resist stopping in. Bargaining is very common in Indonesia. You can bargain for almost everything. If you are good, you will pay less than half of the asking price. We also tried some street food; a spicy soup with chicken, noodles and bean sprouts with a sort of chips. We loved it, and loved the price even more… fifty cents!

Satay

The next day we moved to central Bali to a city called Ubud. For those who have seen the movie Eat, Pray, Love; this is where they filmed part of it. It is busy, but very laid back at the same time. People from Bali are extremely friendly, however many are only trying to sell you something. An overwhelming majority of Balinesians practice Hinduism.  This sets Bali apart from the rest of Muslim Indonesia and makes it very special. Every house, village and city has a temple and there are religious statues everywhere along with offerings. Offerings are made three times a day and consist of little baskets with incense, food, flowers and cigarettes or candy. Every business also places offerings outside of their doors. A common belief is that if you do not follow this ritual something bad will happen. As you can imagine, they are very superstitious. This is only one of the many rituals they practice. Hinduism is very complex. Almost every local we met filled us in on the many gods, rules, ceremonies, and meanings in Hinduism.

We spent three days here, waking up to fresh fruit, coffee and banana pancakes that our home stay included. Then rented a motorbike and went exploring. We visited a monkey forest, temples, drove through rice paddies and the jungle. Finally we treated ourselves with a relaxing Balinese massage followed by a very authentic local dish. It doesn’t get much better!

At Goa Gajah temple

Goa Gajah – The elephant cave

Monkey forest

A simple kinda life – Our 5 weeks in Sydney

Hello everyone! I haven’t blogged in a while but I am back! My short absence was due to a little break from our “backpacking” style of life to live a “normal” kinda life while we were in Sydney. It was actually quite nice to feel “normal”, have a steady home for a month, and give ourselves a break from moving from one place to another.

So, while we were here we got ourselves a little routine of Adam pumping out code in the morning, followed by working out/surfing during the day, a TV show in the evening (we got hooked on Breaking Bad) and then dinner with the rest of the guests and our Aussie hosts Kim and Peter. Not bad at all!

We stayed in Manly, a very laid back beach town in north Sydney. Every now and then we would go out with the other travelers staying at the house for some drinks, cruise the ferry for some city action or walk to the beach to catch the sunset and eat meat pies.

Here are some pictures of our simple kinda life in Sydney, enjoy!

From the Sydney Tower Eye

Friend’s gig at the city

Street theater

10 Things You May Not Know About New Zealand

1. Kiwis are very tough to find. Because the kiwi is a semi-nocturnal, secretive bird, few New Zealanders have seen their national bird in the wild. The closest we came was in a kiwi rescue center in Rotorua.

2. Sheep vs. Cows. NZ is mostly known for their amount of sheep. In 2009 there were ten times more sheep compared with the human population. Apparently this has changed drastically in the last few years. Because of their booming dairy industry, New Zealand has seen a decrease in their sheep population and a big increase on their cow population. We sure saw a lot of both on our road trips!

3. Anti-Nuclear stand. Politically NZ is well known for it’s anti-nuclear stand.They do not possess nuclear weapons and there aren’t any nuclear power plants. It is also very clean and green. (for the record Adam supports the anti-weapon stance, but thinks the power decision is a silly one )

4.  First up Mount Everest. A new Zealander; Sir Edmund Hilary was the first person to conquer Mount Everest. He is also shown on their five dollar bill. 

First man up Mount Everest

5. Women to vote. New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the right to vote. Go girls!

6. Rock formations. NZ has some of the must interesting rock formations of any country. Two of our favorites were the pancake rocks and spherical beach rocks named the Moeraki Boulders.

7. Commercial bungee jumping began here. A New Zealander, AJ Hackett made his first jump from Auckland’s greenhithe bridge in 1986. During the following years, Hackett performed a number of jumps from bridges and other structures (including the Eiffel Tower), building public interest in the sport, and opening the world’s first permanent commercial bungee site; the Kawarau Bridge Bungy at Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand.

8. The beer is gooood! New Zealand is known world-wide for their wines, but there are also many local breweries all over and we loved them all!

9. Green mussels are green and in. The New Zealand green lipped mussel is grown on ropes suspended from platforms on the surface of the ocean. As filter feeders, green-lipped mussels help to keep the water clean as they feed on suspended biological matter. They are very popular and have distinctive flavor, somewhere between clams and oysters. We tried some in several places and we can confirm, they are delicious.

10. New Zealanders are open minded and progressive. Homosexual marriage and prostitution is legal. Soliciting and keeping a brothel is also legal. Driving age is 15 and the legal age to have sex is 16. The drinking age is 18 but anyone under that age can drink with an adult present in restaurants.

Enjoy some more pics of our trip around NZ. Our next post will be from Australia!

A tunnel through a mountain.

The Milford Sound

Pictures don’t truly capture how beautiful this place really is, but here they are. Enjoy!